Bogus site.

Info. About the Doctors are complete.

I, too, have been pickpocketed by Healthgrades. I will NEVER, I repeat NEVER ever again use Healthgrades, com. And I will be happy to spread the story of my bad experience, as I am here, many many time to repay them for ripping me off... Here goes. I purchased a one-time report, which actually was informative, and I was happy and thought it stopped there (at that point I would have used them again). Nope! That was just the beginning. Just like all the other unwitting victims in forums out there, Healthgrades hoodwinked me by proceeding to do me the favor (ha, ha) of slipping in an "enrollment" for me in their "watchdog" program for $9.95 a month (apparently they printed that fact, and wording that I'd have to opt out of it to avoid these charges –for something I didn't want and didn't know I was enrolling in– really tiny on the RECEIPT they emailed to me). Can you believe it? The charges went on for months before I caught it. I complained to American Express and they only reversed a few of the charges (I still have $50.00 worth which they say I have to eat) because they cited the "fair credit act" which prevents them from reversing charges over 30 days old (and lets Healthgrades off the hook). No wonder Healthgrades continues this--for them there's no downside! There's no one to bust them on it. Think your credit card company is on your side? I did! Think again. I had to speak with three people going up the ladder at American Express and --after being put on hold for incredible amounts of time--was informed that they (Amex "supervisors") couldn't help me further because I "willingly gave my card number to Healthgrades" (no matter that they ran up charges for a service I DIDN'T ASK FOR) and according to Amex I should take this up with "officials in the government." I'm not kidding here. This is what you get for being a great customer of American Express for many years with a super credit rating. What a racket! Healthgrades has a great accomplice in American Express--no one I spoke to at Amex had any interest in documenting a complaint--or investigating it. One Amex supervisor said "well, we're not lawyers." Well they're also not advocates interested in the welfare of their customers being fraudulently charged! As for grading Healthgrades, I, as other commentors here, would give those delinquents a grade of F minus. Why bother to offer a decent product if your sales tactics suck and create massive bad will? I had to laugh when I read the prior comment (rebuttal) posted by a person from Healthgrades. No one here appreciates patronizing blather instead of real "damage control". Real damage control would mean changing the way you deliver your product to be honest and up-front. It would also mean refunds for all these automatic charges. Healthgrades: you KNOW nobody really wants your "watchdog" service because you have to fool people into enrolling. People like me order a "one-time report" on a doctor for a reason: information needed ONE TIME. We could care less about getting "updates" (at $9.95 a month no less!) If you don't change your policy, may I suggest that you call the product a "One-Time Report That Will Pay Healthgrades a Lot of Money Because You Will Be Charged Every Month Until You Figure Out the Scam." For consumers: I've found that for FREE you can go to the reference section of your public library for medical directories with current ratings and tons of info to help make good decisions. No need to use or pay for Healthgrades!

www.healthgrades.com promotes themself as a website where you can get both free informatiion and reports for a fee on physicians, hospitals and nursing homes. It is a site that I have followed now for a few years, since I work in the healthcare industry as a consultant and I have purchased a few reports on a few physicians over the past 2 years.
The overall quality of these physician background reports, at best, has been inconsistent and at worst, completely devoid of vital information. When I called their customer service department and attempted to complain about the lack of information in the report and to ask for my money back, they reluctantly said they would refund my money. I sort of felt sorry for the customer service representative, he was trying his best to be polite and professional, despite my hostility and anger over the situation.
A word of warning to consumers who are contemplating purchasing a physician report from this website - don't! They have in the last few months implemented this "upsell sales tactic", for lack of a better way to describe it. Whenever you purchase a physician report for $12.95, they automatically and deceptively attached this service they call "Watchdog Notification Service" for a monthly charge of $9.95/month, every month until you notice the charge on your credit card statement and call customer service to complain about it. Now, I will admit, I understand how internet sales and marketing works and Healthgrades gives you this "canned speel" about how everyone does it and it's not illegal and how it is indicated in 3 different places in the "small print" on their website, somehow rationalizing their, at best, deceptive sales practices, and at worst, fraudulent sales tactics.
The truely sad part of this whole situation is that the target population for their website (understanding the healthcare industry as I do) is senior citizens, many of which are on fixed incomes, and understanding the way most people are, the majority of their customers who are getting caught up in this scam are either not realizing they are being charged every month for something they didn't request until they have received 2 or 3 charges of $9.95 or they are not realizing it at all until either their credit card company intervenes by notifying them of the potentially fraudulent charges (based on complaints from other customers about HealthGrades) or their credit card simply expires, stopping the charges by default. Unfortunately, companies like HealthGrades understand this all too well.